Life of a Samurai
by Metallicafangirl
Summary: A cross between a prequel to The Birthday, and Tseng's biography. You don't have to read The Birthday to read this.
1. Punishment

Alright, this will be a prequel to The Birthday, my other Tseng/Yuffie fic. It is also, sort-of, Tseng's biography. In the part that has to do with The Birthday, Yuffie is four years old, and Tseng is twenty-one, so naturally, there will be no romance between the two. (No, Tseng isn't a paedophile, you sickos! He doesn't love Yuffie until she's at least sixteen! He loves her, but not that way.) There will probably be several prequels and sequels to The Birthday, and this is the first one.  
  
This will be from Tseng's POV. Hope you like it.  
  
******  
  
Where to start? Well, the beginning seems to be a good place.  
  
I was born in Wutai thirty-three, almost thirty-four, years ago. My father was a samurai, my mother was a maid in Lord Godo's house. She died when I was two years old, and my father felt he couldn't take care of me, so he left me in the care of Chekov, Lord Godo's right hand. After that, he left, and was never seen in Wutai again. Rumours say that he was killed by Leviathan because he betrayed me and my mother, but rumours say that Sephiroth was actually sane too, so I don't believe that.  
  
I decided early on that I would become a samurai, like my father before me. I set as my goal to become the greatest fighter Wutai had ever seen, and looking back, I must say that what I achieved wasn't so far off from the original goal. But I am digressing.  
  
I trained hard every free minute I had, and I was soon dubbed the youngest samurai of two hundred years time. After having achieved that title, I moved on to learning everything I could about the ninja way of fighting. That training, as it turned out, would come in handy later in life.  
  
At twenty-one, I was nearly finished with my ninja training. Learning has always come easy to me, and the skills of a ninja were no exception. I was arrogant and cocky, and believed I was the best fighter that Wutai had ever had the honour to bring forth, and therefore, I was becoming careless, foolhardy. As it happened, I was the best, but actually relying on that fact is dangerous. I would speak up to my elders and betters, frankly disobeying orders sometimes, because I believed it was beneath me to carry out as meanly tasks as a simple guarding mission. It was partly because of that Chekov called me that morning thirteen years ago.  
  
As I had a great deal of respect for her, I obeyed the command to see her. She was nearly the only one I had respect for, not counting Lord Godo himself, but every good Wutaian respects Godo, it's in our blood, I believe. I had never actually met Godo at that point, but I respected him nonetheless.  
  
****  
  
As I stepped in to Chekov's room, I had begun to wonder why I was there. I was sure I hadn't broken any rules, and I had been on a mission just the other day, so I was technically on my leave.  
  
Chekov was sitting at her desk, shuffling through her paperwork as I entered. I pitied her; I had never liked paperwork. I never really got over that, which is unfortunate, as I do all the paperwork for the Turks. But I am digressing again. She looked up as I entered, and half-smiled.  
  
"Tseng" She said. I only nodded back, and sat down in the chair in front of the desk, waiting for her to get to the point. She did so fairly quickly. Putting down her papers, she leaned forward.  
  
"Tseng, I am disappointed with you."  
  
"Why?" I asked.  
  
"I have gotten reports on bad behaviour from your side from Kamiro. Apparently, you have refused to follow orders, and talked back to your superiors. I do not appreciate that, Tseng. That has to change, and soon, as I am re-assigning you."  
  
That caught my attention. Re-assigning generally meant you were allowed to go outside Wutai on missions, and I hadn't been outside the city for very long. The reprimand I had gotten for my bad behaviour was insignificant to me.  
  
"I am assigning you to the task of protecting Lord Godo's daughter, Lady Yuffie." She continued, and my heart plummeted to the ground. Protect Lady Yuffie. Act as a bodyguard for Lord Godo's bratty daughter. My mouth hung open. I couldn't believe that Chekov could do this to me.  
  
"Shut your mouth, Tseng. Whining isn't going to get you out of this one." She told me.  
  
I was doomed. I was convinced the gods were against me. I had no patience with little children, and Princess Yuffie was four years old. I was sure I would either commit suicide by the end of the week, or kill the little girl.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
When I had recovered enough to shut my mouth, Chekov took me to see the girl that I was supposed to protect. We found her sitting on the floor of the library, playing quietly with a heap of small glass-spheres. At first, I thought it was Materia, but then I saw it was only expensive replicas. She looked up when we entered, nodded at us, and then went back to moving the spheres around on the floor.  
  
"My lady?" Chekov asked. The little girl looked up again.  
  
"Yes?" She answered, looking from Chekov to me, and then back again.  
  
Chekov gestured to me, and told her;  
  
"This is Tseng; he'll be your bodyguard from now on." She then turned to me, and glared at me.  
  
"You'll take care of her, or I'll rip your ears off." She told me, bowed to the princess sitting on the floor, and exited the room.  
  
I stood there, not quite sure what to do, for some time. The princess returned to the spheres that littered the floor, leaving me alone to figure out what I was supposed to do. After some time, I decided to sit down in the chair next to the princess and watch her.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Please read and review. It's appreciated. 


	2. Truth Behind The Rumours

Chappie number two in Tseng's little bio-thingy. Now we reach the bodyguard business.  
  
**************  
  
I don't know how long I had been sitting there, idly reading a book I had taken from one of the many shelves, when the little girl approached my chair. I glanced at her, not turning my head from the book. She just stood there for a while, looking curiously at me. After a few minutes, it started to get unnerving. I looked up at her, and she looked back without any sign of embarrassment. I sighed. This was going to be a while.  
  
"Was there something?" I asked her.  
  
"What are you doing?" She said.  
  
I looked at her before answering. This child was incredibly annoying.  
  
"I am reading." I held up the book, a heavy volume about the monsters of the world, as if to prove I was telling the truth.  
  
She peered at the books cover, tilting her head a bit. Then, she nodded, and continued to watch me. It was starting to freak me out, being watched by a girl, no more than four years old.  
  
"Are you going to stay here long?" She asked a while later. Once again, I cursed Chekov for forcing me to do this. This child was asking too many questions for me to be comfortable, and I hadn't been her bodyguard for a full day.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh. Why?"  
  
"Because I am your bodyguard."  
  
"What does one of those do?"  
  
Bloody Chekov.  
  
"A bodyguard takes care of someone, and makes sure that she doesn't die." I told her, hoping that she would go away. In vain, of course.  
  
She stood there for a while, and then tried to peer over my shoulder to get a better view of the book. Alas, I was too tall for her to reach over my shoulder, and I soon tired of her standing on her tip-toes behind me. Thankfully, Chekov entered just then, interrupting whatever event would have taken place if she hadn't. I looked up at her, hoping she would say it was all just a big mistake, and I shouldn't be Lady Yuffie's bodyguard, but I had no such luck.  
  
She just smiled at the two of us, and I'm sure I saw a decidedly evil glint in her eye. Of course, I could be wrong; at that time, I wasn't nearly as good at reading peoples facial expressions as I am now. Chekov bowed down before the little brat that one day would become the Lady of Wutai, and nodded at me.  
  
"Your mother wants to see you, Lady Yuffie." She said.  
  
I glanced over at the aforementioned brat, and saw that she was nearly jumping up and down in excitement. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. Didn't she see her mother every day?  
  
"This way, my lady." Chekov said, motioning us to follow her, so we did.  
  
We exited the library by a door I hadn't noticed before, and walked down a deserted hallway. I looked around, trying to imprint the place in my memory, because I had a feeling that I would have to know the layout of this place later. After all, wasn't I going to work here, probably for a very long time? I realized I had fallen a bit behind, and hurried my steps to catch up. The little girl was talking excitedly to no one in particular about nothing special. In fact, she talked about everything; about the dust on the floor, about the sun outside, about what she had for breakfast. After a while, I realized that she didn't want answers, just someone who would listen.  
  
After walking a short distance in the abandoned corridor, we reached a second door, this one in the part of the building that I knew held the personal quarters of the royal family. (It may not be the same now, because even Wutai changes in thirteen years.) Chekov opened the door, and led s into a part of the building that I had never seen before. She walked up to another door, and knocked softly. A voice called ´come in´, and we entered.  
  
Immediately, I blushed like crazy, and turned around to exit. The room we had entered as nothing else than the Lady of Wutai's personal bedroom, and I was embarrassed to say the least.  
  
"Tseng." Chekov's voice stopped me just as I reached the door.  
  
"Yes?" I answered without turning around.  
  
"Where do you think you are going?"  
  
"Outside."  
  
"Whatever for?"  
  
"This is a lady's bedroom, Chekov. I am not allowed in here." I told her, blushing even brighter than before, but I held my voice as cold as I could manage.  
  
I spun around in shock when I heard her laughing, and stared at her open- mouthed. I saw her trying to hold back her laughter, and I got more and more irritated, because I didn't know what the hell she was laughing at. I stood there, tapping my foot, waiting for her to get a hold of herself, painfully aware that both the Lady of Wutai and her daughter were staring at me. I was not comfortable.  
  
After a while, Chekov finally managed to calm down enough for me to get an explanation, she still giggled a bit, but all in all, she was calm.  
  
"You are Lady Yuffie's bodyguard, Tseng; you're not allowed to leave." She explained.  
  
My jaw dropped, I was forced to stay in a lady's bedroom! This was outrageous! It broke the very rules of a samurai! I could do nothing but stare at her, until the Lady's voice broke me out of my petrified state.  
  
"It is alright, really." She said, and smiled weakly at me. For the first time since I had entered the room, I looked at her. I did a double take, and had to stop myself from pinching my arm to make sure it wasn't just a nightmare.  
  
In the bed, just beneath the window, lay the Lady of Wutai. She looked so frail, and was so thin that the sun seemed to shine right through her. There were lines etched on her face, and even from where I was standing, I could clearly see her glassy looking eyes. There had been a rumour saying that the Lady was ill, fatally so, but I hadn't believed them. Until now, that was. Finally, I understood why her daughter wanted so desperately to see her.  
  
Sighing in defeat, I sank down on one of the chairs that occupied the room, and settled iinfor a long watch. 


	3. All In A Days Work

I want to apologize for the lateness of update, I have been busy. I want to thank Deathalletta, my only reviewer so far, your reviews are very encouraging. I only have two reviews on this story, but I won't let that discourage me!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story, except the plot. Everything else belongs to Square. I am making no money on this, and I am not planning to do so either.  
  
*****************  
  
I don't know why I accepted to stay with the Lady of Wutai and her daughter that day, but stay I did. I tried not to stare at the Lady, but it was almost impossible not to. She looked so frail, and I was afraid that she'd break if I so much as breathed at her. I concentrated on the little girl instead. That was one energetic kid! She just refused to stay still, even for the shortest periods of time. The only time she was still was when her mother sang to her.  
  
I can understand why; her mother had a beautiful voice. I found myself listening closely as well. I always liked good music, even when I was a samurai, and not the most intelligent boy to ever see the light of day. I admit without shame that I was dim as a penny candle.  
  
I had been staring out the window, trying to keep my embarrassment from showing, and my blushing to a low minimum, when the Lady's voice broke me out of my reverie. I turned my head towards her, showing that I had heard her.  
  
"Yes, my lady?"  
  
"Do make sure that Yuffie behaves around her father. She has a bad habit of talking back to him, and he doesn't like it one bit."  
  
"Of course, my lady, anything you wish."  
  
I went back to staring out the window, wondering how the hell I would be able to pull that particular stunt. The girl seemed to be too nosy for her own good, and as I have mentioned before, I am not very good with children. So how I should get her to change her attitude was a mystery, as was why Chekov had given me this assignment. I returned from my plans of revenge on Chekov when the little girl pulled my sleeve. I turned and looked down on her.  
  
"Yes?" I asked.  
  
She didn't reply verbally, but reached out her arms to me, as if to embrace me. At first, I didn't understand, but then it hit me; she wanted to sit on my knee. (I never said I was very bright at the time). I was bewildered at first, but reached down and picked up and put her on my knee. She took my hand, and turned her attention towards her mother again. Puzzled, I did the same. The Lady smiled at me, confusing me even more. Then she began to sing.  
  
Some say love, it is a river  
  
That drowns the tender reed  
  
Some say love, it is a razor  
  
That leaves your soul to bleed  
  
Some say love, it is a hunger  
  
An endless aching need  
  
I say love, it is a flower  
  
And you it's only seed  
  
.  
  
It's the heart afraid of breaking  
  
That never learns to dance  
  
It's the dream afraid of waking  
  
That never takes the chance  
  
It's the one who won't be taken  
  
Who cannot seem to give  
  
And the soul afraid of dying  
  
That never learns to live  
  
.  
  
When the night has been too lonely  
  
And the road has been too long  
  
Ant you think that love is only  
  
For the lucky and the strong  
  
Just remember in the winter  
  
Far beneath the bitter snows  
  
Lies the seed that with the sun's love  
  
In the spring becomes the rose.  
  
.  
  
Both I and Yuffie applauded when she was done; the song was beautiful. I think it was then that my love for music was born. Somewhere in my dim mind, I decided that I would learn how play the guitar. I was never a very good singer, or at least that's what I tell myself, so I had to learn to play an instrument instead. Yuffie insists that I have a good singing voice, but I refuse to believe her. She has been known to lie when there is something she wants, such as to get me to sing in front of a bar full of people. But I am digressing again.  
  
Yuffie stayed on my lap, and I sat back, listening to the conversation between mother and daughter. The little girl chatted happily about everything that came to her mind, which was quite a lot, as she seemed to have the attention span of a rubber balloon in a thunderstorm. Her mother listened and smiled, never seeming to tire of the endless chatter. To tell the truth, it was that day I developed a skill that would come in handy for me at the endless board meetings with Shin-Ra later in life; hearing without listening. By the end of the day, I had it down so good that I could answer any questions asked to me about the topic at hand without having listened one bit. Needless to say, it was one of the longest days in my life. But I found I enjoyed it, as it was giving me time to think in peace.  
  
Therefore, I was surprised to find that it was nearing sundown when Chekov came to get us. Her knock on the door startled me so bad; I nearly dropped the child out of my lap. Chekov entered at the Lady's call, and smiled widely when she saw me and the princess. I knew that I must look rather silly; me sitting with a little girl in my lap, peacefully chatting with the Lady of Wutai. Me, the ´fearsome warrior´. I can look back at it now, and laugh still. After greeting her ruler's wife, Chekov turned to me.  
  
"I see you made yourself at home, Tseng." Was all she said. I didn't answer that.  
  
"Come along, now, I'll take you to your new rooms." She said. When I was about to rise, I realized the girl in my lap had fallen asleep. At first, I was about to wake her up, but thought better of it when I remembered she would only start talking again. So I let her sleep, and instead opted to carry her. I lifted her up in my arms, she was surprisingly light, and followed Chekov out of the room, after bowing my head in respect for the Lady of Wutai.  
  
*********************************  
  
I had long since lost count of how many times I had trailed after Chekov that day, but there I was again, following her through the corridors, ignoring the curious looks I got from the guards. I swept past, not dignifying them with a glance, and continued after my superior. My new rooms were not far from the secret door leading to the library, right across from the princess'. I wondered why I couldn't keep my old rooms with the other samurais'. I voiced the question, and only received a Look from Chekov. I knew that I had been stupid again, but I didn't dare ask how. Making a fool out of myself was never something I was very fond of. So, without further questions, I walked into the princess' room, laid her down on the bed, and tucked her in. She woke enough to mumble a sleepy good- night to me before falling back asleep. I only smiled and walked out again.  
  
I collapsed into my own bed on the other side of the corridor, more exhausted than I had been in many days. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. My last conscious thought was than I had to get up really early in the morning to have time to train before having to take care of the princess. It had been an eventful day, and all in all, I was satisfied with it. Becoming a bodyguard, spending hours in the presence of the First Lady, taking care of a chattering four-year-old; all in a days work. 


	4. Breakfast

Deathaletta, my faithful reviewer, I do not know how you can be my only reviewer, maybe people don't like Tseng, maybe they overlooked it, heck, I don't care. But just in case, be sure to tell your friends about it *hinthint*  
  
Yeah, anyway, I'll get on with the chapter.  
  
***************'  
  
I have never been one for long stories and such, but I fear I must make this a long story, lest you be confused.  
  
The next day, I woke up at sunrise, as was my habit, and got up and got dressed. It wasn't until I was halfway out the door that I remembered what had happened the day before. It literally felt the world crashing down over my ears, and it was all I could do not to curse and scream. But I grit my teeth, and decided that Chekov would see Da Chao crumbling before I gave up.  
  
Without realizing it, I had just made the first decision of many that would change my life forever. In a sense, it was the most vital of them all. But I am digressing.  
  
I stepped out in the corridor, and was promptly overrun but a pair of servants. Confused, yet I dismissed the thought of following them, as I had work to do. The only trouble was, I didn't know how to go about that work. Should I enter the princess' room and wake her up, or wait in the corridor until she did, and then go about today's duties?  
  
Thankfully, I was saved from making that decision, as aforementioned princess stepped out in the corridor, wearing an overly large shirt and a pair of shorts, which made her look somewhat like a child in clothes designed for adults. She probably was, too. The shirt looked older than she was.  
  
To my great surprise, she went over and hugged me, well, my legs to be exact, as she didn't reach any higher, but it was a hug nevertheless.  
  
"G'morning." She said, yawning a bit.  
  
"Good morning." I replied, still a bit stunned from the hug.  
  
"What are we gonna do now?" She asked me, looking so adorable that I'm sure even Sephiroth would have melted. On second though, maybe not.  
  
"Now, we are going to eat breakfast." I told her.  
  
And so we went to find something to eat. We ran into Chekov along the way, and she said I should take Her Highness down to eat with me. The problem was, I ate in the soldiers' quarters, where I until yesterday had also had my bed. Well, if that was the way she wanted it, who am I to argue? All I worried about, was how my former colleagues would react when I shoed up at the doorstep with the Royal Brat, as they so fondly called her. And so had I, until yesterday. Somehow, the term didn't fit anymore.  
  
**'  
  
We stood in the doorway to the busy soldiers' canteen, Yuffie clinging to my hand desperately, which she had managed to get a hold of somewhere along the way. There weren't many people in there, but I soon spotted some of my friends. They hadn't seen us yet, and I dragged the child towards their table, wanting to find something normal in this strange situation. Koji looked up when we approached.  
  
"Hey, Tseng, where've you been?" He called.  
  
"I got reassigned." I replied, gesturing to Yuffie.  
  
Koji looked confused for a moment, and then looked in the direction I was pointing, and his eyes widened when he saw it was the princess I had brought with me. It was the first time I had seen Koji truly shocked. But it sure as hell wasn't the last.  
  
"Errr, Tseng, are you sure she should be here?"  
  
I nearly laugh now; I could practically see his mind trying to wrap itself around his new concept. He wasn't very bright either, that boy. Thankfully, I got over my own idiocy quite quickly. A dumb samurai is a dead samurai.  
  
I sat down on the bench opposite him, and helped Yuffie crawl up beside me. I was loosing my stupidity quickly, and I was starting to enjoy messing with his head. I put on an expression of honest confusion, albeit a fake one, and looked at him.  
  
"Why, yes, why shouldn't she?"  
  
"Err, she is the princess, you know."  
  
I looked down at Yuffie in mock surprise.  
  
"Really? I hadn't noticed!" I exclaimed, winking at her, and to my surprise, she grinned.  
  
That came as quite a shock. Five-year-olds aren't supposed to know sarcasm when they hear it, but she clearly understood what I was doing. Now I know that she is smarter than she lets on, but then I didn't, so I almost gaped at her. I didn't, though; it would have ruined my little show.  
  
"Are you hungry, princess?" I asked her, smiling at her.  
  
She nodded, and I piled some food onto her plate. It was amazing how much things had changed since yesterday. I, who previously despised children, found myself joking around with one. But Yuffie isn't, or should I say wasn't, a normal child. What normal child grows up to be a Materia Hunter and end up saving the world? But I am getting ahead of myself again.  
  
******'  
  
The rest of the day went by much as the one before had. I remained in the same room as the princess, doing something insignificant, while she played. Koji had, after getting over the fact that the princess had had breakfast in the same room as he had, proceeded to spread that I was the princess' bodyguard. I didn't min, but it was getting a bit distracting, having people walk up to me every few minutes asking me if it was true. Hopefully, they would get over it soon. 


End file.
